


The Story of...

by Chimney_on_the_roof



Series: Alexander has a crush™ [7]
Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Marriage Proposal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-21
Updated: 2020-05-21
Packaged: 2021-03-02 17:42:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,138
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24310759
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chimney_on_the_roof/pseuds/Chimney_on_the_roof
Summary: “What are you thinking of?” Alex whispered. It sounded more like a breath, but John understood. He always understood Alex, even when they had been in the crowd a few minutes ago with deafening music and singing – yelling – people who weren’t students anymore. “The future,” he answered.“Hm,” Alex said. “Am I in it?”A.k.a. The boys get engaged :)
Relationships: Alexander Hamilton/John Laurens
Series: Alexander has a crush™ [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1724962
Comments: 28
Kudos: 59





	1. The Story of Yesterday

**Author's Note:**

> It's important to read the other works of this series before this one!  
> Enjoy <3

It all started with some school project. Alex couldn’t even remember what it was about, until now. He was looking through the files on his laptop to find out the date of the time John had fallen asleep on his shoulder while working on that project with him. October 23rd, he found out. He hadn’t known at the time that it was only five days before John’s birthday. He let his mind wander to that night and he was filled with pride when he realised he could now call that boy his boyfriend. He was honestly surprised that John could still put up with him after all those years. There had been bumps in the road and they had both changed, but they stayed together in the end.

John and Lafayette became good friends and the three of them shared an apartment now that they went to college. Alex wondered why Lafayette had agreed on moving in with the couple, but he didn’t complain. It was nice to have him around.

Alex wrote the date down in his notebook he had dedicated to his boyfriend, without John’s knowledge. He’d spotted the notebook when he was shopping for groceries and stopped by the bookstore as usual. It grabbed his attention and he knew he had to buy it for John, and his imagination went wild over the idea of filling it with their shared memories. He wrote about John falling asleep on his shoulder and Lafayette carrying him back to his own apartment. Alex used to live in the same apartment complex as John, but Alex moved away not long after to a cheaper place.

The second thing he wrote about was the summer he spent in Paris with Lafayette and his family. John, who wasn’t really his friend yet, had urged him to go outside and look for inspiration in the city instead of in his room behind his laptop. That was when he wrote a poem for John, before he even realised he had a crush on him. He had to scroll through his text history for a long time before he reached the conversation to check the date. July 7th. He still had the hand-written poem in one of his old notebooks, he suddenly remembered.

He jumped up to grab the box with his old notebooks from the highest shelf in the small living room. “What are you in such a rush for?” Lafayette, who was watching something on TV, asked curiously.

“Nothing,” Alex said, trying to reach the box. He was too short, however. Lafayette chuckled and got up from the couch to help him. Alex shot him a thankful smile and rushed back to his room with the heavy box. Lafayette watched him with a questioning look, but retreated to the couch when Alex left the room without another word.

Alex dug into the pile of notebooks. Even he realised there were way too many of them, but only because it meant that he couldn’t easily find the one he was looking for. He made a mental note that from now on he would write down the dates on his notebooks. An hour later after having gone through at least half of the notebooks, and wandering off from his initial search because it brought back so many memories, he found the one he was looking for. Lafayette came into his room when he heard Alex’s triumphant whoop, but left quickly when he saw the number of notebooks scattered on the floor. Alex tore the page out of the notebook and carefully stuck it into the one for John. He considered printing a screenshot of the texts, but decided against it.

In his search for the poem he had come across more pieces of writing about John, but he couldn’t remember the dates. He decided to stick those into the back of the notebook. Suddenly he remembered that Lafayette had seen him searching through the notebooks and that he didn’t know it was a surprise for John. “Laf!” he shouted.

Lafayette hurried to his room. “What’s up?” He relaxed when he saw there was no danger.

“Don’t tell John that…” Alex gestured to the notebooks surrounding him. “Don’t tell him what I’m doing. It’s a surprise.”

Lafayette nodded solemnly. “Alright. What are you doing though?”

“Uhh… Something.”

“Right.” With that, Lafayette left Alex again.

Another hour of collecting memories later, the alarm he had set on his phone went off, indicating that John would be home in fifteen minutes. He cleaned the room and asked Lafayette to put the box back on the shelf. He hid the notebook for John in the drawer of his desk. It wasn’t finished yet, but he would get another two hours tomorrow since John’s and his lectures didn’t align. Alex started the day early in the morning while John could sleep in, which also meant that Alex was home before his boyfriend.

*

The warm body that was pressed against his made up for the cold of the surface beneath him. He was glad that he had at least a coat on, because the hood of the car was not the most comfortable surface to lie on.

“That’s Cassiopeia,” Alex pointed. “The W.” John followed his finger and spotted the stars his boyfriend was pointing at. Alex pointed at some stars above them, “And that’s Cygnus, the swan. It’s very big. Sometimes when I’m outside alone, I look up at the stars and find myself comforted by the fact that the swan is watching over me.” John couldn’t figure out how the stars above him connected into the shape of a swan, so Alex laid his head on John’s shoulder and pointed. John looked sideways at Alex, whose eyes were transfixed on the night sky. Alex noticed and smiled sleepily at him. John pressed his lips to Alex’s. It was a warm and tender kiss, different than the one they shared in the afternoon when they graduated.

The realisation washed over John that he was free. There were no lectures to attend anymore, no essays he had to write. He was done with college and the future was open. His future could go in any direction he steered it in. “What are you thinking of?” Alex whispered. It sounded more like a breath, but John understood. He always understood Alex, even when they had been in the crowd a few minutes ago with deafening music and singing – yelling – people who weren’t students anymore. “The future,” he answered.

“Hm,” Alex said. “Am I in it?”

John poked him in his side. “Of course you are!” When Alex didn’t respond, he realised Alex was serious and looked him intently in the eye. John shuffled into a more comfortable position, if possible, to face his boyfriend. “I can’t imagine a future without you, Alex. If I can make sure you’ll stay with me forever, I will. Even if it means I’ll have to say with you forever. _Especially_ if it means I get to be with you forever. It would be an honour.”

“But… College is over. We’ll both get a job, we’ll meet new people… What if…”

“Alex,” John said. He began to fear Alex didn’t want to be with him anymore. “I’ll only stay with you if you want to.”

Alex looked confused. “What do you mean? Of course I want you to stay with me! But what if we meet new people, and fall in love, and break up, and-”

“Alex,” John interrupted him softly, “I can’t fall in love with anyone else. I love you.” There were a thousand other words he could’ve said, but he felt like these words were the most important of all. A door of the house opened and the noise of the party became louder before it was closed again. He was reminded that time still passed, but time seemed to stop when he looked his boyfriend in the eye. They were filled with tears, but Alex kept them fixed on John. “I don’t want to lose you,” he whispered.

John was on the verge of tears when he pulled Alex closer to himself. “I won’t leave you.”

They both heard footsteps approaching, but they held on to each other. No one could break their moment. “Hey!” Except maybe Lafayette. John looked up at the familiar voice.

“Hey Laf,” he greeted, not losing hold of Alex. His boyfriend didn’t seem interested in socialising with their friend and stayed snuggled into John’s chest. John stroked through his hair. “Everything alright?”

“Oui, just wondering where you two were. I want to go home.”

John raised his eyebrows. “Already?” Lafayette chuckled. “Already?” he echoed. “Everyone is going home!”

“Oh. Well, let’s go home then.” He didn’t make an attempt to get off the hood however, and neither did Alex. Lafayette looked at them and cleared his throat. “I’ll drive,” he said.

That set Alex in motion. “No, I will. You’ve been drinking.”

On the way back home, John thought about the future again. He couldn’t imagine a future without Alex.


	2. The Story of Today

“Lafayette? Do you have a suggestion where I could go with John?”

“On a date?”

“Yeah, sort of…”

Lafayette gasped and smiled. “You’re going to propose?”

Alex nodded excitedly. He was finished filling the notebook for John with memories. He had only included the best and most significant memories of their relationship over the years, which had taken him a long time. Putting it all together and finishing it made Alex think about the possible memories there were yet to make in the future. He was positive that he wanted to spend that time with John by his side. The only thing he didn’t know was how he could propose in a memorable way. Alex told Lafayette that he knew the date, he wanted it to be the 23rd of October, since that was the day they did the project that started it all. He also wanted his friends to be there with them.

“How about you go to Yorktown?”

“We,” Alex corrected him, “You’re coming too. Why Yorktown?”

Lafayette shrugged. “There’s a cool museum about the American Revolution, and isn’t that where the Battle of Yorktown was?” Alex rolled his eyes, “That’s kind of self-explanatory.” John and Alex shared their interest in the Revolutionary War and Alex had to admit to himself that he hadn’t missed the bored expressions of their friends when they started talking about it, knowing they could go on for hours. Maybe he could finally knock some sense into them and show them how interesting the war was.

Alex nodded in response to Lafayette’s suggestion. “That’s great. I could tell John we go to Yorktown for his birthday. By the way, did you know Yorktown has a beach? Yes, great! That’s amazing. Thanks Laf!” He ended the videocall to research travelling and accommodation, his brain buzzing with ideas.

A month later, on the 21st of October, Alex and John left for Yorktown, joined by Lafayette, Hercules, Eliza, and Peggy. Alex had given Lafayette the responsibility of being in charge of the trip, and Lafayette suggested that he, instead of Alex, was the one to tell John about their travel plans, so that John wouldn’t think anything behind the places they visited that could be perfect for a proposal. Alex wanted the proposal to be a surprise, so he wanted John to think this was just a trip they made as a group of friends for his birthday. That way, it made sense to John that their friends were coming along with them.

Lafayette had told the others about Alex’s plan to propose. They insisted on filming it, and the days leading up to it as well. Alex was told that he would be pulled to the side to give his friends updates on his thoughts, while they filmed. Alex wasn’t too fond with that idea, but was persuaded when Eliza said it would be a great video to look back on.

After their flight to Virginia, the group had to split up because they couldn’t all fit into one taxi. Lafayette insisted that John and Alex went into two different taxi’s, and Alex agreed after Lafayette gave him a wink. He figured that Lafayette was planning something. John went into a taxi with Eliza and Lafayette, so Alex had to share one with Hercules and Peggy. A few minutes into their ride they lost sight of the other taxi. A camera was pushed in front of Alex’s face.

“I’m going to interview you Alex,” Peggy said, “but I’m going to cut my questions out of the video, so you have to include my questions in your answers. And begin with saying the date and time. It’s about 6 PM. So, how are you feeling?”

“Tired,” Alex said, and he quickly corrected himself. “It’s October twenty-first, six in the afternoon, and I’m quite tired. I had to spend an hour and a half in a plane next to my boyfriend who will hopefully be my fiancé in three days. Before that, we sat in a train together for half an hour and waited at the airport for an hour. It’s quite exhausting having to hide such a big secret for the guy I share everything with, but I’ve managed to keep it hidden for almost a month. It’s getting harder and harder and it’s actually relieving that I can talk about it now.” He smiled at Peggy, who pointed at the camera she was holding. “But it also makes me nervous. I hope John says yes, I know he will, but I’m still nervous.” He smiled sadly. Peggy gave him the thumbs up and ended the video. “Well done, Alex!” she said.

“It’ll be fine,” Hercules assured Alex.

Forty-five minutes later, they arrived at the inn they would be staying at for the rest of the month. The other three arrived a few minutes later. There were three bedrooms – Alex and John shared a room, Eliza and Peggy shared one, and the last room was for Lafayette and Hercules. It was getting dark and they were all hungry, so they went to a cheap restaurant in walking distance, before lazing in the small living room with four beige armchairs. John sat on Alex’s lap, or rather, was sprawled over him. Everyone was tired, so not long after they retreated to their bedrooms. When Alex went to the bathroom to brush his teeth, Peggy was waiting for him with a camera. “Peggy! What if John comes in?” he whispered. Peggy shook her head. “We’ve got your boy covered, don’t worry. Now, what are your plans for tomorrow? Are you still planning on proposing?” She gave him a sign that the camera was rolling.

“It’s, uhh, what time is it? It’s nine thirty and everyone is tired. I want to propose now, but we’ll have to wait till the day _after_ tomorrow. Lafayette has some great plans for tomorrow. We’re going to visit that museum about the Revolutionary War! I promise you it’s going to be great.” He said that to Peggy, who usually sighed the loudest when he and John got into a long conversation about the war. She gestured him to keep talking. “Erm, I’m going to brush my teeth now and go to bed and I hope John still likes me tomorrow,” he finished with a smile at the camera. Peggy ended the video. “Great job, good night!” she said, and left the bathroom. Alex felt as if he was being treated like a child at Peggy’s ‘great job’, but ignored it. He knew Peggy thought of him as a younger brother, despite being the youngest of the group herself. He thought of her as a younger sister, and somehow those weird dynamics worked.

The group went to the American Revolution Museum at Yorktown the next day. They enjoyed themselves, even though Peggy, Lafayette, Hercules and Eliza claimed beforehand to have no interest in the subject. John and Alex knew all about it, and were excited to see the props and pieces from the battle in real life. They pointed things out to each other, and had to be reminded by their friends that they weren’t the only ones in the museum. For once, their friends listened to what the couple had to say about the Battle of Yorktown, now supported by real-life evidence.

Alex found himself at a table in a café with Lafayette, while the others were ordering lunch or, in John’s case, at the toilet. Lafayette pointed the camera at Alex and asked him to describe the day. Alex concluded his subjective report with, “I don’t think John is going to expect the proposal tomorrow. Damn, I wish it was tomorrow already, then the nerves will be gone and I can call John my fiancé!”

“You seem to be very sure that he’ll say yes!” Eliza said from behind. Alex turned around just in time to see Peggy give her sister a push. “Of course he’ll say yes, Alex,” Peggy reassured him with a pat on the head. Alex ducked away, and saw that Lafayette was still filming. He chuckled nervously.

*

When John returned from the toilet, he saw his friends talking to Alex teasingly. He recognised immediately that Alex wasn’t feeling very comfortable, although he was trying not to show it. He hoped his friends hadn’t told Alex about the surprise he had for him. He loved his friends, but they were not very good at hiding secrets, he thought. Take Lafayette. He winked at him and Alex the whole time. Surely Alex would notice, right? He made a mental note to tell Lafayette to be more subtle.

Alex smiled at him when he joined the table. The atmosphere seemed to change with his arrival, but Alex didn’t seem to notice. He had all his attention on John and John tried to return that attention, but was constantly distracted. He feared his friends would give his surprise for Alex away. He started to think it was a bad idea to invite them to Yorktown, but was reminded he loved them when they brought him the lunch – a donut – they’d ordered for him. Besides, Alex was under the impression it was Lafayette’s idea to go to Yorktown, so it would be strange to leave them at the airport. He tried his hardest not to smile when he imagined that scenario.

That night in bed, John and Alex looked at each other silently in the dark. They often did that when they couldn’t sleep. John moved a hand up to Alex’s hair to run his fingers through it. Alex smiled and his eyes fluttered shut. John did this often and he knew how much Alex enjoyed it. His boyfriend moved closer and snuggled up to him. If Alex were a cat, John thought, he would purr. As if on cue, Alex made a content noise. He thought back to the night of their graduation as he started falling asleep.

*

“It’s the twenty-third of October! It’s around twelve and we’re going to the beach in an hour, and that’s where I’m going to propose to John. The weather is perfect. I’m nervous, but in an excited way.” Alex chuckled nervously. “Let’s do this!” Eliza stopped the video and gave him a dazzling smile. “It’s going to be so great, Alex!” she told him. Alex nodded.

“Can you show me the ring?” Eliza continued filming and Alex showed the ring to the camera. “It’s not a very special ring, but it doesn’t have to be,” he shrugged. “John is special enough to _make_ this ring special.”

As their friends anticipated, Alex couldn’t keep still. Alex tried his best to hide it for John, but as soon as he was in a different room, he started pacing. They had lunch in the inn and Alex was forced to stick around John. Alex noticed that John was acting a little differently than usual too, and he feared that was because he was being so nervous. John always looked straight through him. He went to bathroom when he had been sitting still for too long, and Hercules followed him. With the camera, of course.

“Hercules, how do I propose?” he asked desperately, ignoring the camera. “Do I just ask him ‘Hey John, will you marry me,’ or do I start with a story, or a love confession?” He started pacing.

Hercules put a hand on his shoulder. “Alex,” he said softly, “You’ll know. You’ll know what to do when the time is right. Just nod at me before you do it so I can film it.”

Alex took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. Then he looked at the camera. “Yes,” he said. “I think I can do this.”

John and Alex walked hand in hand over the beach. John squeezed his hand, and Alex squeezed back. The small box with the ring and the notebook with memories burned a hole in his pocket. When they reached the water, they looked at the horizon together. Their friends were gathered behind them, but pretended to play some sort of game Alex didn’t understand. He heard a lot of giggling.

“Alex,” John said, not very softly, and Alex was glad because he would be audible in the video. They looked at each other, holding each other’s hands. “Do you remember that night we graduated?”

“Hm-hm.” From the corner of his eyes Alex saw Hercules filming. John continued, “I was thinking about the future. About… About you. About us. And since that night, I couldn’t stop thinking about it.” John paused and looked at Hercules. Alex followed his gaze. John let his hand go and dropped to one knee. Alex looked back at John and his heart made a jump. “Alex, will you spend the future with me by your side?”

John had a tiny box in his hands with a ring in it. Alex was speechless. His heart was beating too fast and his mind was buzzing. “John-” he managed to say. He didn’t know what to say. He looked at his friends, who were all grinning widely and gesturing him to say something.

His boyfriend was still waiting for an answer. “Yes!” Alex exclaimed. In an impulse, he got his own ring for John from his pocket. He opened the box and John’s eyes widened. “John, will you marry me?”

John got to his feet. “Alex!” he said, grinning disbelievingly. “Yes!” They still looked at each other incredulously, not quite registering what just happened. Peggy and Lafayette whooped and they all applauded excitedly. John and Alex looked at each other sheepishly. Alex felt like his heart was going to burst from happiness. He got the ring from his box and put it around John’s finger, before John did the same to him. They looked each other happily in the eye once more. Alex was almost drowning in John’s eyes, and at the same time they bended forward to capture each other into a kiss. He still couldn’t quite believe what happened. John had proposed to him! He was going to marry John!

He pulled away and yelled excitedly, “I’m going to marry John!” John laughed out of breath, and their friends screamed excitedly. Alex pulled his fiancé into a hug. “I love you, John,” he said in his ear. John held him tighter. “I love you too!”


	3. The Story of Tonight

Alex sat on John’s lap on one of the beige armchairs. John leafed through the notebook Alex had given him. He now understood why Lafayette had told him to propose on the 23rd of October. The other four were editing the videos together, giving the engaged couple some time together. Peggy had vaguely explained that everyone knew that they were both going to propose, and that they made sure they did it at the same time. John was amazed they had managed to plan it so neatly.

Before going out to get dinner, the group invited John and Alex into Peggy and Eliza’s bedroom. They gathered around Lafayette’s laptop and Peggy pressed play.

The video started with Lafayette on his bed with a laptop. _“John called me,”_ he said to the camera. _“He’s going to propose to Alex. He wants to do it in Yorktown, so now I’m going to ask Alex to come with ‘me’,”_ he made quotation marks in the air, _“and John and a few friends to Yorktown.”_ He grinned. The video cut to the videocall. Alex made an indignant noise next to him. “You recorded that?”

 _“Lafayette? Do you have a suggestion where I could go with John?”_ Alex on the screen asked.

_“On a date?”_

_“Yeah, sort of…”_

_“You’re going to propose?”_ John shook his head unbelievingly when he saw the Alex in the video nod. Lafayette could definitely have been more subtle. The video abruptly cut to John’s first vlog.

Alex leaned forward to the laptop. _“I’m going to propose to Alex! We’re going to Yorktown in a month, supposedly for my birthday. That’s what Lafayette suggested. I think it’s going to be hard to hide it from Alex, but there’s nothing I can do about it. It’ll be worth the wait, I hope…”_ He smiled uncertainly at the camera, and the video cut to the next vlog of John.

 _“We’re going tomorrow.”_ He paused and looked around the bedroom. _“The next time I come back here will be with my fiancé. I hope. I suppose.”_ He sighed and looked into the camera. _“Alex, please say yes!”_ The real Alex leaned against John and smiled at him. “You’re so cute,” he said. John slapped him playfully.

The next video was of John and Alex leaning against each other at the airport. John saw Hercules and Lafayette, so Peggy or Eliza was the one behind the camera. _“They’re so perfect for each other,”_ he heard Eliza say. The camera was pointed at her. When Eliza noticed, she stole the camera from her sister and pointed it at her. _“Hey, be careful, we don’t want them to notice!”_ Peggy said. John wondered why this was included in the video.

The next video was one with Alex in the taxi. _“Tired. It’s October twenty-first, six in the afternoon, and I’m quite tired. I had to spend an hour and a half in a plane next to my boyfriend who will hopefully be my fiancé in three days. Before that, we sat in a train together for half an hour and waited at the airport for an hour. It’s quite exhausting having to hide such a big secret for the guy I share everything with, but I’ve managed to keep it hidden for almost a month. It’s getting harder and harder and it’s actually relieving that I can talk about it now. But it also makes me nervous. I hope John says yes, I know he will, but I’m still nervous.”_ John smiled. He knew exactly how Alex must have been feeling, because he had been in the same situation. He couldn’t imagine how it must have been for the other four, who knew all along about their ‘secret’. The video cut to him in the other taxi.

 _“I’m in a taxi with Eliza and Lafayette and they keep saying how excited they are. It’s like they’ve forgotten_ I’m _the one who’s proposing.”_ In the taxi next to John Lafayette chuckled. “Wow,” Alex said to John. “It’s almost as if Laf’s making fun of you!” John slapped him again, but couldn’t help a chuckle. _“It’s great that Lafayette separated me and Alex for this vlog, but I wonder what Alex must be thinking…”_ The video cut to Alex’s _“Tired”_ again, then back to John. _“I can’t believe I have to wait till the day after tomorrow to propose. Alex, if you’re watching this, you must’ve said yes. Please kiss me.”_ Alex chuckled and gave John a kiss on his cheek. Eliza rolled her eyes.

The next part was a shot of the inn. _“They’re sharing a room!”_ Peggy whispered into the mic, making it sound too loud.

 _“Peggy is keeping Alex busy, so I have some time to vlog.”_ John sat on the bed in their shared room. _“We’re going to go to the American Revolution Museum at Yorktown tomorrow. I don’t think I’ll be vlogging then. I’m pretty tired right now.”_ As if to prove his point, he yawned. _“I still love Alex,”_ he concluded with a smile. Cut to Alex in the bathroom. “Oh!” John said. “Wow.” So that was how Peggy was keeping Alex busy.

 _“It’s, uhh, what time is it? It’s nine thirty and everyone is tired. I want to propose now, but we’ll have to wait till the day_ after _tomorrow. Lafayette has some great plans for tomorrow. We’re going to visit that museum about the Revolutionary War! I promise you it’s going to be great. Erm, I’m going to brush my teeth now and go to bed and I hope John still likes me tomorrow.”_ Hercules shook his head slowly. “The parallels,” he remarked. “Uncanny.”

“Right?” Eliza agreed. The next shot was of John and Alex in the museum running from pillar to post. John saw Peggy reading a sign with information about an object. “Ha!” he said. Peggy sighed, like she usually did when he and Alex started talking about the Revolutionary War.

The next scene showed John in the bathroom of the museum’s café. _“The next time I’m proposing to Alex, I’m going to do it in here.”_ He looked at the camera with a frown. _“I mean, not in the restroom, but in this museum. Beside one of those ships. They’re amazing! I’m not going to tell you about how awesome this museum is because you’ve been here yourself, I mean, you’re still here but not the you who’s watching this… I’m making it complicated. By the way, Lafayette, you’re not being very subtle. You do realise you keep winking at me and Alex, right? I guess it doesn’t matter anymore when you watch this, but still.”_ He sighed. _“I know I should trust you guys, but you don’t seem to take it seriously!”_ Alex patted him on the cheek. “I love how dramatic you are.”

“Shut up. You should hear yourself.”

 _“It’s the October the twenty-second, about three in the afternoon. We’re at the museum I talked about earlier. This museum is fantastic!”_ Alex beamed. He was in the café. _“Laf, thank you so much for suggesting going to Yorktown. It’s wonderful. This museum is wonderful. John is wonderful! I feel like I’m falling in love with John again. This morning, I noticed how soft his hair looked. I always notice, but now… I felt the butterflies again… He’s just so gorgeous, you know?”_ John ran his fingers through Alex’s hair. He felt the butterflies too. _“I don’t think John is going to expect the proposal tomorrow. Damn, I wish it was tomorrow already, then the nerves will be gone and I can call John my fiancé!”_ John chuckled. “No, I did not expect it.”

Eliza, Peggy, and Hercules appeared behind Alex. _“You seem to be very sure that he’ll say yes!”_ Eliza said. Peggy gave her sister a push. _“Of course he’ll say yes, Alex,”_ she said. John smiled when he saw Alex duck away, but not in time to avoid the pat on his head. That was a thing between him and Peggy. Alex looked back at the camera and chuckled nervously. Behind him, the three others covered their mouths to muffle their laughter and Peggy hid her face in Eliza’s shoulder, who put a finger to her lips. The Alex next to John looked offended when he saw what had been happening behind his back.

 _“Tomorrow’s the day!”_ John said from one of the armchairs in the living room. Next to him sat Lafayette. _“Can you show me the ring?”_ he asked. _“Sure!”_ John got the ring from his pocket. _“Do you take that everywhere?”_ John shrugged and smiled sheepishly. _“What if I want to propose sooner?”_ He turned to the camera he was holding. _“I picked this ring out with Eliza. She was the first to know I wanted to propose. That wasn’t long after we graduated.”_ He gasped and turned to Lafayette. _“That’s what I’m going to say to Alex before I propose!”_

_“What, that you picked a ring after you graduated?”_

_“No, no, that I’ve been thinking about_ marrying _him since that night of our graduation. Do you remember? We were on the hood of the car together and we talked about the future. We told each other that we’d never leave each other. Then suddenly you came and said you wanted to go home. Anyway,”_ he turned back to the camera, _“That was quite a big moment. Just so you know.”_ He flashed a smile and the video cut to Alex on Lafayette’s bed.

 _“It’s the night before the proposal… Lafayette asked me when I realised I wanted to marry John. It was… about one or two years ago? It was an ordinary day, I was grocery shopping. As usual, I stopped by the bookstore, because… And then there was a notebook that caught my attention and I got the idea to fill it with memories. I started collecting memories in the form of things we wrote, and I wrote in the notebook about significant times in our relationship. It starts on the 23 rd of October, six years ago tomorrow, when we did that project together that brought John to my attention for the first time. Other things in the notebook are poems I wrote to John, some printed conversations we had over text, and little drawings John has given me. When I was putting that thing together, it occurred to me that there was a possibility that John and I wouldn’t spend the future together. But I know I _want _to spend the rest of my life with him, so I started thinking about marriage. It’s quite self-explanatory, actually.”_ John sighed lovingly. That was amazing. Alex had told him this when he gave him the notebook after they both said yes to each other, but this was a more extensive tale. “I’m going to marry you,” he said softly to his fiancé. “I know,” Alex responded giddily.

An energetic Alex appeared on the screen. _“It’s the twenty-third of October! It’s around twelve and we’re going to the beach in an hour, and that’s where I’m going to propose to John. The weather is perfect. I’m nervous, but in an excited way. Let’s do this!”_

 _“Can you show me the ring?”_ John heard Eliza ask. Alex showed the ring to the camera. _“It’s not a very special ring, but it doesn’t have to be,”_ he shrugged. _“John is special enough to_ make _this ring special.”_ John chuckled. “Sure.” Alex slapped him, “You like it.”

John’s next vlog was interspersed with shots of Alex pacing in the living room. _“I’m going to propose today. I am_ actually _going to propose! I’m nervous and it’s not helping that my friends know about it. They just make me more nervous. Also, Alex seems nervous too?”_ – Cut to Alex pacing in the living room – _“I think it’s just because I’m being nervous.”_ – Cut to Alex pacing in Peggy and Eliza’s room – _“I hope the others haven’t told him about what’s awaiting him, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he has connected the dots. Whoa. What if he already knows about it? I’m going to kill you guys.”_

Cut to Alex in the bathroom. _“Hercules, how do I propose?”_ Alex asked the person behind the camera in distress. _“Do I just ask him ‘Hey John, will you marry me,’ or do I start with a story, or a love confession?”_ He started pacing. The camera operator put a hand on his shoulder. _“Alex,”_ he heard Hercules say, _“You’ll know. You’ll know what to do when the time is right. Just nod at me before you do it so I can film it.”_ John saw Alex take a deep breath. He looked into the lens. _“Yes. I think I can do this.”_

The next shot was of Alex and John walking on the beach towards the water. He realised they were both equally nervous. _“Who do you think will be the first one?”_ he heard Peggy ask. _“I think Alex,”_ Hercules said, _“He’s more spontaneous.”_ John continued to watch with growing indignation, and both he and Alex looked up from the screen at their friends. They had been betting who would be the first one to propose? _“That’s why I think John will be the first one,”_ Lafayette’s voice said. _“He knows what he’s going to say and wants to do it in Alex-style.”_ Eliza’s voice joined in, _“I agree. Did you know he’s been carrying his ring with him these last days? I’m surprised he hasn’t already proposed.”_ Meanwhile, the camera showed Alex and John standing by the water. John turned to face Alex, and Hercules shushed the others. The camera zoomed in.

_“Alex. Do you remember that night we graduated?”_

_“Hm-hm.”_

_“I was thinking about the future. About… About you. About us. And since that night, I couldn’t stop thinking about it.”_

John saw himself nod at the camera and saw Alex looking confused. Then he dropped to one knee and presented the ring. He remembered the nerves running through his body. _“Alex, will you spend the future with me by your side?”_

Alex was silent and looked at him wide-eyed. The moment before he said _“John-”_ lasted shorter than he remembered. Alex looked at the direction of the camera where he knew their friends were watching them with wide grins. He now knew why they were grinning so badly.

 _“Yes!”_ Alex exclaimed. He got the other ring from his pocket and John cringed at his own stupid reaction. He just sat there dumbfounded. _“John, will you marry me?”_

Alex gripped him tighter as they watched the proposal being replayed on the laptop in front of them.

 _“Alex!”_ John said, _“Yes!”_ The cheering and applauding sounded louder than John remembered, but of course their friends were closer to the mic. He felt a warm feeling spread through his chest as he realised how supporting and helpful his friends were. And he shouldn’t have been afraid that they would reveal anything. He looked at the ring on his finger as he watched Alex on screen put it on that same finger. Alex – the one on the bed with him – looked at him with a dreamy expression. John felt butterflies and kissed him deeply. Alex was his fiancé, he was going to spend the rest of his life with him!

_“I’m going to marry John!”_


	4. The Story of Tomorrow

“Happy twenty-second birthday!”

John cracked his eyes open and was greeted with a kiss from Alex. He moaned, and Alex pulled away with a smile. “Get up, we have a present for you!” John slumped back into his pillow. He was still tired. Alex pulled at his arm. “Come on!” When John didn’t move, Alex said “One…”

John opened his eyes again. “Are you using my own weapon against me?” he mumbled. Instead of responding, Alex said “Two…” John huffed and sat upright. “Alright. But only because it’s my birthday.”

“That doesn’t make sense.”

“Exactly.”

Alex shrugged and John followed him to the small living room. Everyone was already there – in their pyjamas – so the four armchairs were taken. “Happy birthday!” they said in unison. To his relief, Hercules offered his seat to John and Alex. John settled onto Alex’s lap. Then he realised he hadn’t thanked them. Hercules handed him a much needed cup of coffee. “Nothing can top this present,” Alex said. The others chuckled.

When John had fully woken up, Lafayette handed him a box. “This is from all of us,” he said. John’s eyes widened when he opened it. Inside the box was a plant. It had green leaves with dark pink veins, and he recognised it as a Fittonia, a nerve plant. This one was called a Red Anne, due to the reddish nerves. He smiled brightly at his friends. “Thanks!”

Alex said he had another gift for John. “What is it?” John asked curiously.

Alex handed him a piece of paper. “For in the notebook,” he said.

John folded it open and read it. “Aw, Alex…”

“What is it?” Peggy asked. The others were looking at him inquisitively as well. He read it out loud.

“Dear John, my fiancé, this notebook is now filled with memories. But as we both know, this is only the start of a bigger, longer story. This notebook is filled with memories from the moment our paths crossed until the moment we told each other we want to spend the rest of our lives together. If I could go back in time and meet my six years younger self, he won’t believe that that kid sleeping against his shoulder will be the man he’s going to marry. He would laugh at me and say, “Who do you think you are?” because he won’t believe it’s his future self he is talking to. Clever kid. Thank you for all the memories we made together. When you’re feeling sad, take a look in this notebook and remember that I love you. I love you, John. I love you, I love you, I love you! To many more memories, my dearly beloved John!”

He looked around at his friend. He had started crying somewhere halfway, and there were tears in Alex’s and Peggy’s eyes as well. Alex pulled John closer to him and buried his face in his chest. “Thank you, Alex,” John whispered. “I love you.”

*

The travel back to New York City was more pleasant than the travel to Yorktown because John and Alex weren’t plagued by nerves and secrets anymore. They were disappointed to leave Yorktown, but looked forward to having more privacy. Lafayette had shared the video of their proposal – not the one with the vlogs and interviews, but just the proposal itself – with more friends, and the congratulations poured in via their texts.

They spent the entire travel practically glued together, Alex melting under John’s hand in his hair. He wanted to be alone with him, but he felt the constant presence of the other four. The days between the proposal and John’s birthday had been eventful, the six of them had visited some great places, and in the evenings they stayed up late playing games or just talking. It had been a nice getaway and they’d made some unforgettable memories, not all of them captured on camera. Alex and John were happy to be together and to have made these memories together.

The words ‘I love you’ never lost their meaning.

**Author's Note:**

> Anyone whose birthday is on the 23rd of October?  
> This is the last work of this series... Please let me know what you think!! <3


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